Whatever it takes
by Bavaria78
Summary: When MacGyver and Jack go missing while working undercover it's up to Riley and the rest of the team to find their friends in time. Mac whump, Jack whump and Riley whump. I don't own any of the characters.
1. Chapter 1

AN:

And I'm back with another story. What can I say, still no medic, still no native English speaker. So I say sorry in advance for all the mistakes I've made.

Chapter 1

„Open up!"

„This is, achoo, disgusting and it doesn't help any…achoo…way."

„This is an old Dalton family recipe. Trust me honey, you'll feel as good as new in a few days."

„In a few days! You got another idea coming, if you think I'd put up with you and this disgusting stuff for …"

Rileys protest was cut short by a thermometer, that Jack shoved into her mouth. After about five minutes Jack finally took it out and frowned. „102,5 that's not good Ri."

„It's just a cold Jack. I'm fine." Jack rolled his eyes and answered. „You're spending too much time with Mac."

Riley looked at the thermometer and complained. „Where did you find that ancient thing anyway? I've got a digital one that gets you a reading in three seconds."

Jack laughed. „Do you honestly think I would trust you with a digital thermometer? You'd hack it the moment I'd turn away. No way young lady."

Riley pouted and shivered. Jack grabbed another blanket and spread it over her. „You are overreacting Jack. It's really just a head cold and a little coughing."

„Yeah, that's why you passed out in the war room this morning." Jack commented dryly.

„I didn't pass out, I just got a little dizzy is all." Riley objected.

Although she had to admit, she felt like crap, that was also the reason she didn't complain when Jack took her home to her apartment after Medical confirmed that it was indeed a cold. But the Delta was in full mother hen mode by now. The coffee table was full with meds, tissue boxes, juice and everything else Jack thought she should have within easy reach. Not that he'd leave her alone. Riley seldom got sick, but like Mac she tried to hide it as long as possible.

Jack stood up and walked into the kitchen. „I'll make you some soup, something easy on the stomach." He couldn't help himself but worry about his surrogate daughter. The Delta was shocked when Riley started to sway in the war room and he suddenly had his arm full of the girl, who wasn't really with it then. Jack immediately took her to Medical, where Doc Ward diagnosed a cold and told her to gome and rest for a few days. Matty didn't object when Jack asked her to stay with Riley until she felt better. The director wanted her computer genius to recover properly and she knew Jack wouldn't be much use anyway if he was worrying about his girl while at work. So this was the best solution for everybody. Mac and Bozer were busy in the lab improving the protective gear of the tac teams.

Jack watched Riley closely while he was preparing the soup. Another coughing fit had her gasping for air and Jack sat down beside her and rubbed her back in soothing circles. He felt guilty for not noticing sooner that Riley was sick. Maybe it wouldn't have gotten this worse. The coughing eased and the hacker gratefully accepted the glas of water Jack handed her. „Thanks Jack. That was a bad one. I hate being sick."

„I bet. What about a movie to distract you, you choose." Jack offered. Riley smiled and snuggled into his side, while selecting a film.

The next two days were spent with arguing about meds and eating, but they were also filled with long conversations and platonic cuddling on the couch. They were sitting on the couch once again and the last scenes of RED were playing when Riley said. „You know, being sick isn't all that bad, apart from your mother henning."

„Huh?" Jack was confused. He pulled the blanket higher, when he noticed Riley was shivering.

„I mean, being sick sucks, but I really enjoyed the days with you alone. Don't get me wrong, I love Mac, Bozer and Matty, but spending time with you is great. It reminds me of the time, when Mum was working and you looked after me. " Riley admitted.

Jack was overwhelmed by this compliment. „Wow, thanks. Honestly I didn't expect that Ri. I often feel like the crazy old man who is tagging along you whippersnappers."

Riley shook her head vehemently. „No, don't say this Jack. We might tease you a lot about your age, but no one of us thinks you're old or crazy. You're a funny guy and a great friend."

„Yes, more of that please!" Jack grinned and Riley punched him in the side. „I think the meds are affecting me more than I thought. My brain to mouth filter is obviously gone. I'm never gonna hear the end of this." She sighed and Jack pulled her into his side again.

The next morning both their phones beeped at the same time. „Must be work," Jack said and read the message. It was indeed from Matty ordering her back to Phoenix.

„I just hope, she doesn' t send you out into the field right away. You're not fully recovered." Jack stated.

Riley rolled her eyes and said. „I feel good Jack. I'm up to it. Stop your worrying."

„Nope, not gonna happen sweetheart."

Riley was met with hugs from Bozer and Mac when they entered the war room. Matty walked in and studied the hacker for a moment, before she asked. „Are you ok Riley?"

Riley smiled. „As good as new boss." She ignored the annoyed snort of Jack. Matty nodded and turned to the big screen, where several files popped up.

„A new group of mercenaries appeared on the international level. They are an increasing threat, as they were involved in a coup in an insular state in Europe last month as well as in several acts of terrorism in the Middle East. We have intel, that they have a training camp in the US. Our job is to infiltrate the group and take them out for good. They call themselves Ares. Their leader is a guy named Gregory Hunter."

„Ares is the Greek God of war." Mac provided and Jack asked. „So, how do we go about it?"

Matty pulled up two files with Macs and Jacks faces. „You two are joining them. We have waterproof cover stories for you. As they are in need of good soldiers, we use part of your army career. Jack you are Matt Wilkins a sniper and Mac is Kevin Campbell EOD tech, both dishonorable discharged. Jack you punched your superior and Mac disobeyed orders and blew up an enemy camp which resulted in civillian casualties. Their compound is assumed to be in Oregon, but we have no location. What we have is the name of one of the members of Ares Sam Walters, who is a scout for them. He is currently hanging out at a shooting range just outside of LA. Jack is going out to the range and impress him with his skills. Don't approach him, let him come to you. Mac you are hanging out there too, but not every day. Let's see if he rises to the bait and we go from there. Riley find out as much as you can, before Mac and Jack go in there. Bozer you can continue your project in the lab."

So the next day found Mac and Jack at the shooting range. Packed with several guns and rifles Jack grinned as if it was Christmas. The compound was a big one, well equipped with a lot of opportunities for target practise. Jack spent the morning training especially with the long range rifle, because he knew that would probably draw the attention of their target to him. Mac was sitting at a small table tinkering with some pyrotechnic as this was his cover.

Jack came over and plopped into the seat beside Mac and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler. They had noticed Walters arriving mid morning. He was getting off some shots here and there, but they noticed that he mostly was observing the shooters around the camp.

„Seems our intel about him being the scout was right." Jack stated quietly.

„Yeah, and he has already cast an eye on you." Mac informed him.

„No wonder, there aren't many pros around." Jack stood up again. „Well, I'm gonna give him something to dream about tonight and then we're heading back. Would only be suspicious if we hang around here all day." Jack went back to the range and got off a few impressive shots, then he packed up and they headed home.

This was the pattern for the next few days. Mac joined Jack from time to time, but Walters hadn't made a move yet. They were sitting at their little table again, having a beer after Jacks shooting session.

„You know, I really like firing guns, but I'm getting a little impatient here hoss." Jack was frustrated.

„Yeah, me too. Riley sent me a text. Our army records were checked out, I think it's not gonna be much longer until he makes a move."

„Seems you're right there Kevin, he's comin' over," Jack whispered.

„Mind if I sit down with you guys?" Walters asked.

Jack shook his head and offered. „No not at all. Want a beer?" The other nodded and Jack handed him one.

„You're a pretty good shot." He said to Jack, who only shrugged. „Yeah, but there's not much use for my skills since the army kicked me out. I still love shooting so I'm coming out here. What about you?"

„Just trying to stay in shape, when you know what I mean. I didn't see you getting some shots off." Walters said to Mac.

„Well, I'm not that fond of guns. I'm a pyrotechnic, but there's not a lot of work at the moment so I'm hanging out with Matt from time to time.

The man grinned and reached out his hand. „I'm Sam Walters."

„Matt Wilkins and that's my buddy Kevin Campbell. Don't mess with him, or he'll blow you to hell and back," Jack introduced them with a grin.

„Oh no thanks. I still get the heebie-jeebies when I think about explosions. Got blown up in Iraq while I was in the army, almost cost me an arm." Walters explained and they were soon into a deep conversation over their army days. After a while Walters asked. „So, what are you guys doing now?"

„Not much work for a pyrotechnic with my record. Just finished a job, some stage explosions for a rock band." Mac-Kevin shrugged.

Jack-Matt complained. „Hey at least you can blow something up bud. I had to play babysitter for a snot nosed Hollywood kid, that was disgusting. I'm bored out of my mind."

„Well maybe I can make you an offer since you're both not doing so well concerning your jobs." Walters finally came to the case.

Jack leaned forward. „I'm open for anything, but I'm not playing guard dog or bodyguard for some VIP."

„Don't worry Matt. It's way more interesting what I have to offer." Walters said with a grin.

„The problem is Matty, that we don't know where their hideout is. We're supposed to meet Walters tomorrow morning, but he said we'd be brought to the compound in a closed van. They are very careful. He also mentioned their computer system was high end." Mac explained when the team was gathered in the war room later that day.

„They'll search us for sure, so no coms and they'll take our phones. We need to find a way to contact you and keep you updated." Jack remarked. „I think we should try to put a tracker in the van, before they have the chance to scan us for devices."

Matty nodded. „That's a good idea. Riley what did you find out about Ares?"

„They are proposing their services on the dark net. But I haven't been able to get access to their system. It's a closed one, we have to approach them directly. I've thought about it. I wrote a code which is hidden in a song, so I put it on a USB flash drive along with your favourite songs, they won't expect something like that. You only need to connect it to one of their computers and I'm in."

„That's my girl!" Jack praised her and Mac nodded in agreement. „Great job Riley."

Riley smiled, but then she sobered up. „But I have no idea, how you can contact us."

„They're probably using sat phones, we just have to steal one and then we can call you. If you don't hear something from us withing 48 hours, come and get us." Mac suggested.

„You need to find out their next assignment and all their connections to take down their entire organization." Matty outlined their plan.

They spent their last evening together at Macs place, enjoying beer and pizza out on the deck. When it was time to say goodbye to her friends Riley hugged Jack a little longer and said. „Take care, big guy. I have a bad feeling about this." The hacker couldn't keep her concern out of her voice.

„Don't worry honey. With you as our back up, we'll be just fine. What do you think about going on a little road trip when I'm back? Just the two of us."

„If it isn't Vegas I'm all in," Riley smiled and kissed Jack on the cheek as a goodbye.

Walters picked Mac and Jack up the next morning at their meeting point. Their suspicion was valid, because as soon as Walters left the van he and the driver started to search Mac and Jack thoroughly. They scanned all their stuff, but all they found was Jacks flash drive, because Mac was able to put the tracker under the fender while fastening his shoe laces.

Jack grinned. „You don't expect me to go who knows where without Metallica and Willie Nelson? Believe me, you don't want to hear me sing on the ride."

The driver connected the USB drive to the radio and soon the sound of Enter Sandman filled the air. „It's ok. Just music," the driver confirmed.

They were sitting in the back of the van, no windows, so they couldn't see where they were going. They drove for 16 hours until they reached their destination. They chatted with Walters, who was very reluctant with information. He only confirmed that they were mercs. Mac and Jack were supposed to help with the training of the new recruits, because of their experience. Mac was supposed to build some bombs when needed. Walters didn't reveal any information about future jobs. They needed to earn their trust first.

Jack had to admit he shared Rileys uneasy feeling about their assignment. There were to many unknown factors, they were walking into this compound practically blind and deaf and that didn't sit well with the Delta. A shared look with Mac told him that his partner had the same concerns.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

AN:

Thank you guys for all the kind words. Thanks to the guest who left a review and of course thanks for following and favouriting the story already. I always get a kick out of it, when I'm informed about it.

Chapter 2

It looked like they were in the middle of nowhere, and that was probably the truth. The landscape was nice. Soft hills and a lot of woods were surrounding the compound.

A tall thin man greeted them. „Welcome at Ares. I'm Greg Hunter. Walters was excited about your sniper skills Matt." Jack-Matt took the outstretched hand of Hunter and returned the smile.

„Oh you should see Kevin blow things up, that's the real deal" Jack bragged about Mac, who nodded a greeting.

„I can't wait to see that. Actually I'd like to see a performance of both of your skills, before I decide what to do with you." Jack didn't like the underlying threat, but ignored it. Hunter waved his hand. „As you can see, we're pretty well equipped." The boss was right. The place looked like it once had been a big farm. A huge house with a porch around it and a lot of buildings, where men were busy. Some obviously working on trucks, others were unloading and storing supplies and in the background several men were running through drills. All in all there were probably at least 30 mercs in the area.

Mac spoke up for the first time. „Looks well organized. I like that." He approved, hiding his uneasiness at the small army they were facing.

For the next two hours, they were shown around. The office as well as Hunters private rooms were in the farmhouse. The sleeping quarters were in one of the smaller buildings. Rooms with eight beds each, army style. It would be difficult to sneak out at night and not be noticed. There was a huge weapons store room with every weapon from a Beretta to a rocket launcher as well as huge amounts of ammo.

„I'm gonna leave you two alone, so you can get settled." Hunter was gone and Mac and Jack were finally alone in their room. Mac flopped onto his bunk and sighed. „I don't like this Jack. How are we supposed to contact the Phoenix, they'll watch us closely." Jack grinned and pulled a burner phone out of his pocket.

„What the hell, Jack?" Mac asked dumbfounded.

„Didn't you notice they were stacked in the corner of the office. I grabbed one after you and Hunter left." Jack said proudly.

Mac sighed relieved. „Good job." He looked out of the window. „Now or never, call Phoenix."

„Hey guys, I'm glad you're making contact already. I'm tracking you now." Riley greeted them.

„Ok, boys give me a sitrep." Matty ordered and Mac described the compound.

Jack added. „We've seen about 30 men, but my guess would be there are at least 50 of them. It's going to take us a while until we can get into the office to place the code. They watch us closely, so I think we need to lay low for a few days until we get a bit more room." Jack analyzed the situtaion.

„Ok, guys I've got your location. You are 100 miles east of Medford." Riley informed them. „I'm getting a satellite view of you now. Wow, that's in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but wood for miles."

„You need to get as much intel as possible about their organization. We don't know if this is the only compound they have, if there is more than one, we need to know. As soon as Riley's got access, she'll be able to secure the evidence we need to take them down in Oregon, but it is imperative that we get the whole group. Once we know everything we need, you get the hell out of there. I'm gonna send out a few teams to the area, they'll be on stand by." Matty outlined the plan.

„Understood, we'll check in with you every 24 hours. If you don't hear anything from us, send the cavalry." Mac ended the call and hid the phone.

They met their colleagues at dinner, which was astoundingly good. Most of the men sat around the large dining room after that. Some of them playing cards, others watching TV and a few were playing darts. Other than that there wasn't much to occupy themselves. The Phoenix agents split up and met again a few hours later.

„Did you find out anything Mac?" Jack stretched and Mac smiled, when he heard the familiar pop of the Deltas joints.

The blond shook his head. „I was careful not to ask too much, the guys were pretty closed up."

„Same here. What I learned is, that there aren't many new guys coming in. Obviously they got us because they needed our special skill set. They don't trust us." Jack stated.

„Well, then we'll show them what we can do. Maybe they'll warm up a bit, when they see what we bring to the table. Hunter wants me to blow something up tomorrow." Mac smiled.

They began to chat about sports and soon their room mates appeared to turn in.

The next morning the Phoenix agents were assigned to different tasks. Jack joined the main group going through some drills, while Mac was told to blow up some stumps. After that Jack had to prove his sniper skills. Hunter had set up a difficult shot for him, but Jack passed with flying colors.

After that he walked over to Mac who was placing together another little bomb. Hunter followed and watched as Mac wired the detonator with quick nimble fingers. As soon as he had finished the device he looked up at Hunter. „What do you want to blow up with it?" The boss motioned to an old truck.

After clearing the surroundings and warning the men Mac placed the bomb and handed the remote to Hunter. The man grabbed it and pushed the button without hesitation. The detonation destroyed the truck completely and the men cheered and shouted with excitement. Mac grinned like a child on Christmas morning and Hunter clapped him on the shoulder commendatory. „Walters didn't exaggerate, when he said you two would be valuable assets for our organization."

Two days later Mac and Jack had settled in with the group and the distrust from the other guys seemed to ease. At their check in with Matty and Riley Mac announced. „We're going to place the code tonight Ri. We should finally get some good intel then. I don't want to stay here too long and risk our cover to be blown."

„I'm sorry guys, but I haven't found out much these last days. Ares is pretty careful, so we really need to get into their system." Riley was frustrated, that she wasn't able to find out anything about the mercs."

„They seem to start to trust us. We could convince them with our performance so far. I just hope we can get out of here, before they want us to go on an assignment. Would make everything way more complicated. I'm on watch tonight, so it should be fairly easy for Mac to sneak in and place the code." Jack added.

Getting into the office and installing the code turned out to be a milk run. Mac and Jack relaxed a bit. Maybe this was finally a mission, that ran smoothly.

The next morning they met Hunter, who was showing a new skinny guy around. „Kevin, Matt this is Avonaco, our IT specialist." Jack and Mac nodded and went to the track to run a few miles.

„What do you think about that Avocado dude? Do we need to worry about him?" Jack asked while running.

„Avonaco Jack. It's a native American name and means lean bear. We'll ask Riley about him. Avonaco isn't his real name, that's for sure." Mac answered. „I hope she's got enough intel, that we can get out of here real soon. We're sitting in the lion's den."

Jack agreed. „I'm totatlly with you hoss. I've got this uneasy feeling since we set foot in here. They're going for something big."

„You're probably right. The guys are really tight lipped or they don't know any more than we do. I'm not sure. I just hope that Avonaco doesn't find Rileys code." Mac shared Jacks unease.

They turned in early, to call the Phoenix. „What have you got sweetheart?" Jack asked.

„I'm still working my way into their system. I've only been able to get access to some of their financial data. Whoever set them up, is good really good. I have to work around so many firewalls it is insane." The hacker reported.

Mac said. „Yeah, about that, Hunter introduced us to a guy, he brought in today. Does the name Avonaco ring any bells?"

„Sonofabitch! He's the guy who hacked Interpol last year. Now I understand why it is so hard to get into their system. He'll find my code for sure." Riley warned worried.

Matty ordered. „Ok, that's it. You need to get out of there now. Head east, I'll have the tac teams pick you up, we're gonna track your phone and send you the coordinates for exfil."

„Understood, but we'll have to wait until it's dark or they'll spot us immediately." Jack confirmed the order.

„Ok, keep your heads down. See you at the Phoenix." Matty ended the call. Mac shut off the phone and hid it under one of the floor boards, then he pulled the foot of the bed back over it.

Jack sighed. „Crap! We should have gotten outta here right after we placed the code."

Mac shrugged. „Too late for it now. Let's just hope, we …" The blond was interrupted by the door banging open and six guys with guns at the ready storming in. Hunter was following them. „Who are you and who do you work for?" The boss demanded angrily.

Mac and Jack raised their arms in silence. Not much they could have done against six heavy armed guys. Jack felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and thought he heard Mac cry out before darkness engulfed him. A moment later Macs limp body hit the floor as well. Hunter stood over them, barking out orders.

„Search them and get them out into one of the vans. We're shutting down this site now. Follow protocol Alpha. Load all the gear into the trucks. We're heading out in 30 minutes."

Back at the Phoenix Foundation Matty asked Riley about Avonaco. „What do you know about this guy Riley?"

„Not much. I've never met him, but he's one of the best. Way better than me. He's ruthless, does every job, if the payment is high enough. I just hope he doesn't find the code until Mac and Jack are out of there." She looked at her boss with fear in her eyes.

„Mac and Jack are our best agents. They'll find a way." Matty tried to soothe her.

„I hope you are right."

„Find out as much as you can, as long as we have access to their system." Matty ordered.

„Already on it." Rileys fingers were flying over her keyboard. Suddenly she cried out. „No, no, no, no!"

„What is it Riley?" Matty wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

„I'm shut out. Avonaco found the code." Riley typed furiously, but to no avail.

„So, they're blown. Dammit! Riley, try to contact Mac and Jack and let them know. The tac teams are at least two hours away, because we can't go in there with a helicopter. Let's just hope, it's enough time." Matty grabbed her phone to update the tac teams.

Riley fought back the panic creeping up her spine, while she set up the call. „The phone is out, damn!"

Jack and Mac needed her at the top of her game. She mustn't let them down. She was the hacker of the team. It was her job to get the intel without getting spotted and she had failed. Jack and Mac were out there in the middle of nowhere facing 50 mercs. Riley closed her eyes as images of her friends bloodied and beaten appeared in her mind. She shook her head and fixated her glance on the screen again. Focus!

Mac and Jack were gagged and their wrists cuffed behind their backs. The mercs threw them none to gently into a van without windows. As soon as the doors closed the vehicle started to move.

Matty paced the war room. „Riley where are Mac and Jack?"

The hacker shook her head. „They haven't switched on their phone yet. The last location was at the compound."

„Ok, get me a satellite image of the area." Matty was calm, but Riley could feel her concern anyway. They had spent so much time in situations like this, it was easy to tell when her boss was worried. And she was right now. Riley could see it in her stance, the way Matty leaned her head slightly to the side. A motion she only made when she was thinking hard of a solution for a serious problem. Her hands were twitching just the tiniest bit, another indication of her nervousness. Riley couldn't blame her. This group was a huge threat. Well organized, operating covertly and as far as they could tell they had a lot of money.

The images appeared on the screen. There was a lot of movement. Men running around, loading trucks and vans. „I only have eyes for about five minutes, then the satelite view will be gone for about 40 minutes."

„They're leaving. I just hope Jack and Mac got away from them in time. It's getting dark, that should help them." Matty observed.

They stared at the screen. The last vehicles were moving out of the compound. Matty and Riley were startled when suddenly all the buildings exploded. Riley covered her mouth with her hand to suppress a cry. "Do … do you think Jack and Mac got away? What if they left them behind? We need to get there now!" She was desperate.

Matty took a deep breath and laid a hand on Rileys shoulder. „I'm sure they either got away or Hunter took them with him. If they got captured he will want to know, who is on his heels and how much they know about his organization."

„That's not making me feel any better Matty. If they have them, they are going to torture Jack and Mac." Riley gulped. He had seen Jack after he had been tortured by Tassilo, his back was covered in ugly scars. She also remembered the time when she and Jack were captured and Jack was beaten half to death. He had riled the bad guys up so they wouldn't hurt her.

„I know Riley. That is why I need you to focus right now. They are going to relocate. We need to find out where they are heading. I know you didn't get much intel out of their system, before you got shut out, but go over every detail. There must be a clue. I've sending the tac team to the site anyway. Maybe they find them hiding in the woods or there are at least any clues left at the compound. We'll find them Riley. I'll get Bozer. He'll help you going over the data."

Riley felt a bit better. Matty was right. They would find their missing family members and they would bring them back.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

AN:

Thanks for the reviews. I hope you will like this chapter.

Chapter 3

When Jack came to the first thing he registered was the gag in his mouth. He tried to reach up and pull it out, only to discover that his wrists were cuffed behind his back. The Delta blinked the world into focus against the pounding in his head. He was lying in the back of a van. If he got a dollar for every time this had happened, he could go on a nice vacation.

A groan beside him alerted him to the fact, that Mac was with him. Thank god. At least they hadn't killed them yet. But Jack had a pretty good idea, what was ahead of them and it wouldn't be pretty. Jack moved around so he could get a look on Mac. The blond was blinking slowly. The Delta couldn't see his eyes clearly because it was too dark in the van.

Jack didn't know how long he was out but he thought by the pounding in his head at least several hours and they were still moving. He started working on his bonds, but realized pretty soon that their capturers knew their business. The Delta felt his wrists getting slick with blood. Mac was starting to move around too, but seemed to be no more successful than he was.

The van came to a sudden stop and the door was opened. Rough hands grabbed the Phoenix agents and pulled them forward. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and Jack realized that he must have been out longer than he originally thought. He tried to take in as much of his surroundings as possible, which wasn't much. They were in front of a large building which looked like some kind of abandoned military complex. The weeds had run riot and some of the smaller builings were in different stages of decay. A brutal shove in the back almost sent Jack to his knees. Mac wasn't so lucky and fell on his face with a grunt of pain. Anger rose in Jack as he witnessed the unneccessary force the guards used. It was obvious that they were really pissed at the Phoenix agents.

Mac was pulled to his feet and they were led into the building. The mercs forced them down a few flights of stairs into the basement, where they were pushed into a cold cell. The room was a prision cell with a few old cots a small sink and a toilet in the corner.

Jack and Mac sighed relieved when their gags were removed and the restraints were taken off. The guards left without a word and they heard the heavy bolts sliding in place after the door was shut.

„How're you doin bud?" Jack wanted to know as he rubbed feeling back into his hands.

Mac did the same and answered. „I'm fine," but couldn't suppress a wince, when he moved his head around.

„Yeah, sure. You look like a sunny morning in spring." Jack didn't buy it as usual. „Looks like we're pretty far away from the other compound, if we travelled all night long."

Mac nodded. „You're right and they wouldn't have their backup place just around the corner. Looks military style." He obsereved.

Jack walked around their cell. „Fucking concrete, any idea how we get out of here?"

Mac shook his head. „Not yet." He suddenly went green and ran to the toilet, where he threw up violently. Jack walked over to him and rubbed his back. He tried the sink and was grateful, that it was still working and the water seemed clean. He ripped of the sleeve of his shirt and wet it. When Mac was done, the Delta guided him over to one of the cots and sat him down. He gently washed the face of his partner. Mac leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. Jack carefully felt around Macs skull until he found what he was looking for. A huge lump on the back of his head.

„They got you pretty good there, hoss. Look at me." Jack watched Macs pupils, they were even, but a bit to wide. „You've got a concussion bud. Why don't you lie down for a while?"

„We need to get out of here Jack. I'm fine and you got hit on the head too." Mac shoved Jacks hands away and stumbled to his feet. The Delta sighed, Mac was right, but he didn't like how his partner swayed for a moment. He stayed near the blond and together they examined the room for a possible way to escape.

Riley had worked through the night. Only taking a break, when she had to use the bathroom. The trash can in the war room was filled with several empty coffee cups. Bozer had fallen asleep a few hours ago and Matty was in her office calling in favours to bring her agents home.

The director walked into the war room and found Riley working furiously.

„Did you find anything Riley?" Matty asked.

The hacker shook her head. „No, every lead was a dead end so far. What about the tac teams?" She raised her glance from her rig, hope shining in her eyes.

„Nothing, all the buildings are destroyed. Not the slightest clue. They are searching the woods now. Ares was prepared for something like that to happen. No way they would've been able to clear the place and blow it up in only 30 minutes. What did you find on the sat feed?"

Riley threw her empty coffee cup in the trash bin with more force than neccessary. „I couldn't trace them, the canopy is so thick and there is no way to even guess how many dirt roads are leading away from the compound. There are no traffic cams for 80 miles. I'm searching the nearest ones for trucks and vans, but so far nothing. If they've split up, there is no chance to find them." She said angrily.

„Ok so we need to concentrate on the data you pulled out of their system." Matty concluded.

„Yeah, but I've only got money transfer data, that I've been not able to track yet." Riley admitted.

Matty observed her more closely. „Take a break, sleep an hour or two and then start again."

„Are you serious? Jack and Mac are out there somewhere, I'm not taking a break until we've found them." Riley shot deadly glares at her boss and Matty decided to let it go for now. She just hoped they would find their missing teammates soon.

Mac and Jack had searched their cell for hours, but they hadn't been able to find a way out. The walls, ceiling and floor were made of concrete and there was only a tiny opening right under the ceiling where fresh air came in. Not even a child would fit through it. The door was made of metal and heavy, outside there were at least five bolts.

Mac was once more studying the door, he bent down to get a closer look at the hinges. When he stood back up the room was spinning wildly. Everything dimmed. The blond blinked his eyes and found Jack leaning over him. Confused he registered he was lying on the cot on the other side of the room.

„Are you back with me hoss?" Jack asked concerned and ran the wet cloth gently over Macs face.

„Did I pass out?" Mac asked, even if he knew the answer to it.

„Yeah, you were out almost an hour." He held out a cup of water and helped his partner to take a few sips." Jack didn't like the pallor of his friend and he was frantic, that Mac was unconscious for such a long time. Not good, not good at all.

„We need to get out of here Jack," Mac said and moved to sit up again, but Jack pushed him back down gently.

„You need to rest your noggin for a while. We already searched the room ten times at least. Matty's on hot pursuit for sure and Rileys doing her thing too to get us out of here." Jack tried to reason with his partner. „Let's rest up for a bit. I'm sure they're starting to question us soon. Maybe they'll take us to another room and we find a way to flee then."

Mac nodded and laid back. Jack didn't know what worried him more. That the blond didn't argue about it or the unfocused glance. The Delta sighed and took the cot beside his partner. He knew they were in for a hell of a time and he took all the rest he could get to brace himself.

A short time later the door opened and three guards entered the room. Jack sat up and said. „About time you showed up. The room is in desperate need of cleaning and you can put a few fresh towels in our bathroom while you're at it."

Jacks plan worked. One of the men stepped forward and snarled. „You've got a big mouth Texan. We'll start with you. Let's see how talkative you are with the boss." The Delta was grabbed by two men and pulled out of the cell. Mac slowly sat up, feeling guilty that his partner had drawn the attention of their capturers to him. It was always the same, when they got caught. Jack was running his mouth and taking punches, while Mac tried to find a way out of their situation. Slowly he stood up and inspected the room once again.

Several hours later the door opened and Jack was dragged in and dropped to the floor. Mac rushed to his side and gently turned his partner over. The blond gasped as he took in Jacks mangled face. One eye was swollen shut, his lip was split and he had a nasty cut over his eye. His left side seemed to have taken the brunt of the beating, which indicated that he was beaten by a right handed man.

Mac gently tapped his friends face. „Hey big guy, I need you to wake up please." No response. After a few minutes of coaxing Jack started to stir and finally his good eye opened, but he wasn't able to focus. He tried to push himself up, but Mac stopped the movement. „Easy, take a moment. It's ok. It's over." Jacks head seemed to clear up and Mac asked. „Do you think you can stand, if I help you?"

Jack nodded and wobbled to his feet. With Mac supporting most of his weight, he shuffled over to one of the cots. He sank back with a grunt. Mac helped him to drink a few sips of water and winced as Jacks face contorted in pain. „Let me check you over bud." The Delta shoved his hands away. „Bruised ribs and a slight concussion. Nothing you can do about it hoss."

„Humor me Jack," Mac pleaded and pulled up his partners shirt. Jacks ribcage was mottled with bruises, but after carefully feeling around, trying to block out his partners grunts of pain, he agreed. „You're right Jack. Not broken, but badly bruised." Mac started to wash away the blood with gentle movements.

The Delta managed a grin. „Told you so, ˋs not too bad. I prefer a beating over being waterboarded any day."

Mac laughed. „I think they hit you harder than I thought. Do you really said you prefered one kind of torture over the other? That's weird, even for you."

„Come on Mac, don't tell me you'd rather have pulled your fingernails out than taking a few punches?"

Mac went a shade paler and pressed out. „I don't want to have this kind of conversation with you Jack. Not now and not ever. Am I clear?"

Jack snickered, what made him wince in pain. „Are we a bit on the edge?"

Mac couldn't suppress a smile. He was relieved that Jack was joking again. The blond felt guilty for it, but he was glad that Jack was with him. They would get out of there and he was sure, that their team was working furiously to get to them.

Back at Phoenix that was exactly what was happening. After checking in with the tac teams Matty turned to Bozer and Riley. The director shook her head. „Nothing."

„I'm starting to pick apart every single transaction, nothing so far. Just paying for supplies." Riley was pale and tension was radiating from her. Bozer sqeezed her shoulder. „It's gonna be alright Riley. We'll get them back, Mac is probably rigging something up already."

The hacker just nodded and sat back down to hammer at her keyboard again, when Matty closed her laptop. „Matty, what the hell!" She said annoyed, not caring about the tone of voice she used with her boss.

„You need to eat and you need to rest Riley. You're at it for 36 hours straight without a pause. Bozer take her to the cafteria and make sure she eats something. Then you're gonna lay down for at least two hours, before you continue. That's an order."

Bozer nodded and pulled a reluctant Riley out of the war room. The hacker only nibbled at her sandwich complaining. „That's ridiculous, sitting here and stuffing food into us. We don't know if Mac and Jack have anything to eat or drink. They could be lying out there…"

„Stop! Riley, you have to stop punishing yourself. None of what happened is your fault." Bozer tried to reason with the hacker.

Riley slammed her sandwich down angrily. „You don't get it, do you Bozer? It was my job to get access to their system and gather all the intel, so they could get out of there in time. It was my job and I failed. They are counting on me to find out, where they were taken. I don't have time for this." She threw her napkin on her plate, grabbed her coffee and left. Bozer sighed and began to eat the sandwich Riley had only taken a bite off.

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

AN:

Thanks for the reviews, also thanks to Guext (Guest) for the review. Enjoy and maybe leave a few words if you like this chapter.

Chapter 4

After a restless night their cell door opened and Mac knew it was his turn to be interrogated. Nevertheless Jack tried his old trick again. „I'll take bacon and eggs, and please make sure that my pancakes are hot and fluffy." It only earned him a punch to his gut, which had him doubling over as his ribs screamed out their protest. „Stop it Jack," Mac murmured as he was dragged away.

The Delta was restless. He was wandering around their cell, but there wasn't anything that would help him get out of there. He snorted. If there had been something, Mac would have arranged their escape already. The waiting grated on his nerves. Not knowing what they were doing to his friend.

After an eternity they brought his partner back. Mac was soaking wet and still gasping for air. Waterboarding. Jack didn't like the wet rattle, he could hear when the blond drew a breath. The Delta pulled his friend to his feet and Mac made it two steps before his knees buckled. Jack grabbed the blond firmly around the waist and laid his arm over his shoulder, ignoring the pain in his middle. Carefully Jack lowered Mac onto the cot and sat down on the edge.

Mac was shivering and only half conscious. Jack pushed the wet bangs out of his face. He grabbed one of the worn blankets they had and covered his friend. Slowly Mac came back to the present. „You were right Jack," he rasped with a small smile.

„Oh, I love to hear that hoss, but to be honest I'm not following your train of thought right now." Jack answered with a raised brow.

„Being punched is better than waterboarding," Mac choked out and was hit by another round of wet coughs.

Jack laughed and helped Mac sit up to breathe easier. „I knew it, sometimes you should simply listen to the Jack Dalton pearls of wisdom."

Mac snorted. „I'll never hear the end of it. How was your day?"

Jack smiled relieved that Mac was still up to their usual banter. „Not exciting, just hanging around, enjoying the view."

Riley was rubbing her eyes once more, as the numbers on her screen were blurring together. Bozer sat back on the couch in the war room and said. „I don't know how you do it all the time." He had been watching the traffic cams of the surrounding area for any clue.

Riley looked up frowning. „What do you mean?"

„Staring at the monitor all day long without pausing. My eyes start to burn and I can't concentrate after only a couple hours." Bozer rubbed his red rimmed eyes.

Riley smiled. „You get used to it after a few thousand nights." She pulled a small bottle of eye drops out of her backpack and threw it over to her friend. „Take these, they'll help and close your eyes for 10 minutes, then you'll be fine for another couple of hours."

Bozer smiled. „Thanks Ri. We'll find them." The hacker only nodded, without looking up. She didn't want Wilt to see the tears building up in her eyes.

Matty entered the room and asked for a sitrep. „Still nothing." Bozer replied and Riley only shook her head. The director sighed, taking in the tired appearance of her agents.

„When have you last slept?" Matty asked. Bozer answered with a guilty expression. „I got a couple hours this night. I didn't mean to fall asleep, but I couldn't stay awake any longer, sorry." Riley ignored the question completely.

„That's ok Bozer, don't feel bad about it. You both need to rest. Go home for a few hours and then come back refreshed. Looks like it could be a few more days until we're able to get them back." Matty stated with a calm voice.

„You can't be serious, how can you expect us to sleep, when we have no idea if Jack and Mac are still alive?" Riley stormed. She jumped up and made a step in the direction of her boss, when she started to sway.

„Riley, are you ok?" Bozer asked worried and moved to steady her, but he was a moment too late, because the hacker collapsed to the floor in a heep.

„Riley!" Matty and Bozer were at her side in an instant. Bozer held the hacker in his arms and tapped her face lightly, while Matty pulled out her phone and called Medical.

A few minutes later Doc Ward rushed into the room, when Riley began to stir. Together they laid her on the couch and the physician began to examine her. Riley pushed his hands away. „Let me be, I'm ok."

Doc Ward stood up and said. „She's exhausted, she needs to eat and she needs to sleep."

„I'm fine," came from the couch. Bozer smiled. „You're spending too much time with Mac," his smile vanished. „Sorry, I'm sorry Ri, that was inappropriate." He looked down.

Matty thundered. „Enough! You are both going home. Bozer I trust you to follow my orders, if you want to keep your job and your testicles." Bozer blanched and nodded meekly. She turned to Riley. „Listen to me Riley and listen good. I have two guys accompany you home, they will stand watch at your door and they aren't allowed to bring you back here short of six hours. This will be the rule for every day until we get our boys back. I can't let my agents kill themselves over this. Jack would have my hide, if I let you work yourself to death." Matty the hun has spoken and Riley didn't dare to disagree, although she wanted to.

Matty sighed and added softly. „I don't like this any more than you do Riley, but our boys need us to function. We can't think straight and make the right decisions if we're running on fumes. We all need a minimum of rest or else we wouldn't be any help for them." Riley didn't say anything, she only nodded, she felt shaky if she was honest and she hadn't eaten anything in … well, she didn't even remember. It was probably, before this whole mess started.

Riley sat in her apartment staring at her phone. Jack always checked in with her, before he went to sleep. Often it was only a short message, wishing her a good night and sweet dreams, but sometimes they were texting back and forth, teasing each other about their day or sharing a few thoughts. Riley finally lost the fight against her tears and started sobbing. „Please Jack, you have to hang on. I need you so much. I miss you and Mac, come on big guy, don't do this to me." She pleaded brokenly.

Riley showered and laid down in her bed. After turning around for over an hour, she stood up and grabbed her rig. Matty might force her to come home, but she couldn't stop her from working. She owed it to Jack and Mac to give everything. Riley sucked down an energy drink and started pulling up some files.

The cell door opened and Jack was pushed in, collapsing to his knees and breathing hard. Mac was at his side and steadied him, a concerned look on his face. He helped the Delta to his feet and guided him over to the cot, where he sank down. The blond didn't like how his partner was trembling.

„What did they do to you?" Mac wanted to know. The last days their torture alternated between beatings and waterboarding, but Jack wasn't wet and he didn't sport any new bruises as far as Mac could tell.

„They found a new toy, obviously. A cattle prod, I think it was modified. Hurt much more than the average cattle prod." Jack chuckled and winced in pain. Mac was confused. „What's so funny?"

„Ya know hoss, a man shouldn't know how much an average cattle prod hurt, when it's shoved into your chest."

Mac was stunned for a moment and then started to laugh. „You're right bud. No man should know how different kind of tortures feel at all."

Jack grinned, while absently rubbing his aching chest. „Hey, if we get out of here alive, we could write a handbook ˋEffective ways of torture for beginnersˋ"

Mac shook his head. „You're an idiot Jack." But he couldn't suppress a laugh which turned into a coughing fit. Jack rubbed his partners back in slow circles, but he couldn't do much to help Mac.

The Phoenix agents were trying to keep up their usual banter, but it was not longer a natural thing to do. They were getting weaker with each passing day. They were lucky, so far their torturers hadn't done serious damage to their bodies. Mac and Jack had bruises over bruises and probably a couple of broken ribs. The waterboarding had hit Mac harder than Jack. The blond was coughing almost constantly and was running a slight fever and Jack was concerned about pneumonia. They didn't get much to eat, just enough to keep them going, at least they had enough water.

Jack sobered. „We need to get out of here, as long as we're able to walk. When they come in the morning to get you, we'll be ready. We need to jump them, I don't see any other way." The Delta outlined his plan. Mac sighed and agreed. „I thought of it too. There's simply no other way. It's been too long, if there had been a lead Matty would have sent out a tac team already."

Jack nodded. „Ares is too good at hiding. We need to get out and let them know, where we are. I'm sure Matty has everybody on their toes."

Riley was itching to get back to Phoenix. She had been working while her enforced stay at home, but she didn't have complete access from her rig. Energy drinks and coffee had helped her through the night and she managed to choke down a power bar. Back in the war room Matty informed them, that there weren't any news. The next 18 hours were filled with checking the same data, going over satelite images and watching traffic cams. Riley tried to talk Matty into letting her stay, but the director didn't budge.

That was the pattern for the next days. They were working on every lead and then going home for six hours every day. Bozer seemed to adjust well to their new timetable. Riley wasn't able to rest peacefully. She showered, napped for an hour or two and got back to her task. The hacker didn't eat much, mostly power bars, because she didn't waste her time with shopping groceries. Coffee and energy drinks were her fuel. She was running out of clean clothes, but she didn't care. Hoodies and leggings it was. Riley ignored the occasional bouts of dizziness as well as the fact that she was losing weight every day. She had more important things to worry about.

The sound of heavy boots announced the arrival of the guards. Jack and Mac were ready. The blond stood five foot away from the door and Jack was behind it. It were always three men, who were coming to get one of them. As soon as they were in the room, the Phoenix agents started their attack. Jack elbowed one between the shoulder blades and the man went down to his knees. Mac drove his fist into the face of the guy next to him and followed with a few punches to the middle. Jack was already on the second guard, kicking him in the knee and taking him out with a hit to the throat. The first man was still on his knees, but had recovered enough to yell for help. The Delta knew they were running out of time. He drove his knee into the face of the guy and saw that Mac had knocked out his enemy. The blond was breathing hard, but shot his partner a grin. „Let's go!"

As soon as they entered the hall, they were facing a small army. Mercs were running in their direction from both sides. „Left," Jack yelled and barrelled into the smaller group of enemies. He fought furiously, but there were at least eight guys now and the Delta went to his knees, stunned after receiving a heavy blow to the head. A guard took his arm, ducked and turned. The snap of Jacks shoulder popping out was tuned out by the Deltas scream of pain. He hunched forward and was dimly aware of a guy holding a metal pipe coming at him. A second later his bad arm exploded with new agony when the guy smashed his forearm with the pipe. The world went dark and Jack was out before he hit the floor.

Mac knew, they failed when he saw the number of men coming at them. But the blond simply wasn't a quitter so he followed his partner right into the middle of the fight. Mac threw punch after punch, but in his weakened state he didn't do much damage to the enemy. He heard Jack cry out as one of the guys dislocated his shoulder. His eyes widened, when he saw another guard breaking Jacks forearm with a heavy pipe. Instinctively Mac tried to get to his partner, but he was thrown to the ground by a kick in his back. He quickly rolled onto his back and drew his feet back to kick out, but was met with the pipe, that was crushing his leg. Mac screamed until a kick to the head put him into oblivion.

Riley knew she was missing something. It had been 12 days since Jack and Mac had last contacted them. She could feel their time was running out. After rolling her neck and gulping down the rest of her coffee, she turned to her laptop again. Her hands started to shake violently and her vision blurred, she felt panic rising but shoved it back. Now was not the time to fall apart. Riley clenched her shaking fingers into tight fists and took some deep breaths. „I got this," she murmured and closed her eyes for a moment until she got control of her body.

Riley was going over the financial data once again, when she suddenly spotted something, that didn't add up. Matty entered the war room, smiling when she saw Bozer had fallen asleep with his head on the laptop. When she looked at Riley, she frowned. The girl was pale and she clearly had lost weight. Her hair was hanging losely over her shoulders and she wore leggings and a hoodie. Riley was hacking away at her keyboard and Matty laid a hand on her shoulder. The hacker looked up startled. A flicker of hope appeared on her face.

„Matty, I think I got something."

„Put it on the big screen," Matty ordered. Riley did as she was told and moved to stand up to explain what she had found. As soon as she was upright, the room started to spin and the hacker had to grab the back of the couch to keep herself from falling.

„Riley, are you ok? I'll get the doc," Matty uttered and grabbed her phone.

„No! I'm good, just stood up to quickly." She smiled and stepped forward, adrenaline fuelling her weakened body.

Matty frowned, but let it go for the moment. „Ok, what have you found?"

„There is one transaction that stands out. It is the same amount every month, but it is always redirected many times. I finally managed to track one of the transactions. It is a payment for an old folks home in Switzerland. It covers the costs for Rose Jäger." Rileys voice was getting louder and Bozer woke up and listened intently.

Riley smiled. „Jäger is the German word for Hunter. I think, it's maybe his mother. I checked her properties and she owns a former military training camp, that was abandoned in the eighties."

„Where is it Riley?" Matty held her breath.

„Idaho," the hacker answered.

„Great job Riley. Send the coordinates to our tac teams. We're sending in all three teams and I'll get back up from the CIA." Matty promised.

Please let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

AN:

Hey guys, I hope you had a great time watching the first episode of season 4 in America. I think there isn't even a date set, when it will be aired in Germany. So enjoy the next chapter and leave me a few words

Chapter 5

Cold. Wet. Why was he cold and wet, Mac wondered when he slowly came to. He recognized his partners voice and tried to make out the words.

„…sleeping beauty, you have slept long enough. Mac, can you hear me. Come on man, you're scaring me!" The Deltas voice was dark with concern, while he gently washed his friends face.

„ˋm here Jack," Mac managed and coughed, the motion sending sparks of agony through his skull as well as his ribs. There was something wrong with his leg, too. He moaned and closed his eyes, gulping hard and forcing the bile that was rising back down.

„Easy Mac, I'm gonna sit you up a bit, so you can breathe better, ok? You with me bud?" Worry and pain were visible on Jacks features.

Mac nodded and forced his eyes open again and Jacks face came slowly into focus. The Delta eased one arm under Macs shoulders and slowly moved him into a sitting position. He couldn't suppress a grunt of pain as the motion jarred his bad arm. Mac was breathing heavily, obviously fighting nausea.

„Do you want some water Mac?" Jack asked and held out a cup, but his partner shoved it away. After a few minutes all his pains had settled to a tolerable level and he looked at Jack.

„What happened?" The blond asked puzzled, his leg hurt like a mother, but he couldn't remember why.

„Well, we tried to escape, but only made it as far as the hallway outside our cell. There were simply too much of the bad guys. Looks like they broke your leg, but I was already out, when it happened. Sounds familiar?" Jack asked not liking how pale and confused his partner was. Mac was clearly concussed and his breathing was not sounding right, with the broken leg on top Mac must be miserable as hell.

The blond thought for a moment, then the events of the day came back. He rubbed his aching head and said. „Yeah, I remember now. They dislocated your shoulder, right?" He looked at his partner and noticed the lines of pain deeply embedded in the Deltas face.

Jack nodded. „Popped it out and then smashed my arm it with a fucking pipe, I think both ulna and radius are broken. Hey at least it's my left arm." He tried to sound optimistic, but failed when another grunt escaped this throat.

„I need to set and bandage your leg, but you have to put my shoulder back in first," Jack explained.

Mac slowly nodded. „You know this always sucks, right? But with the broken arm on top, this will hurt like hell." He shuddered, Mac didn't know if it was because of the fever or the task he would have to perform on his partner.

Jack answered with a grin. „Hey, you'll get in on the fun too brother. I have to set you leg afterwards."

Mac looked down and saw that Jack was right, the angle his leg was bent was not right. He sighed. „At least one of us is happy about it." The blond commented sarcastically and continued. „Let's make a contest. The one who passes out will have to pay for the beer for the next month."

„Dude, great idea," Jack smirked.

Mac rolled his eyes. „That was a joke Jack! Ok, sit down on my other side, where I can reach your arm better." Mac painfully lowered his legs from the cot and made room for Jack.

„You ready?" the blond asked and Jack nodded. Carefully Mac grabbed the broken arm and tried to ignore his partners sounds of pain.

Mac took a deep breath and said. „On the count of" he yanked the limb back suddenly and the soft plop of the shoulder slipping back into its socket was almost tuned out by the cry Jack couldn't suppress, before he passed out. The blond worked quickly and felt along Jacks forearm, it seemed he managed to realign the broken bones too. Mac was grateful he was spared to inflict more pain on his partner. He reached out and pulled over one of the cots. The legs of the cots were thin hollow pipes, they didn't work as a weapon, but for splinting they were great. Mac removed two of them and ripped the blanket into stripes and had Jacks arm stabilized and wrapped in no time. With stripes of the blanket Mac managed to fashion a sling, where he gently placed the injured limb in. He sat back with a sigh and waited for his friend to wake up.

A low moan indicated that Jack was coming to. The Delta blinked and it took him a moment to get his bearings. Mac smiled at his partner. „You lost. The beer for the next month is on you Jack."

„So, I passed out huh?" With a grunt of pain and some help of Mac he managed to sit up.

„Yeah, you did. How does the arm feel?" Mac asked.

„Hurts like a mother, but at least the shoulder is better. Thanks bud." Jack was pale and shaking. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. „Just give me a few minutes and I'm gonna take care of your leg."

„Easy Jack, take your time. Wait until the pain settled down a bit." The blond soothed, before he continued. „The legs of the cot are good to use for splints and there's enough of the blanket left to wrap it." Mac pointed at the items he had already prepared.

„Can't wait to get started, can you?" Jack said with a wry grin after composing himself.

Mac shrugged. „No use in putting it up much longer. What I can't wait for is to get out of here. But I don't think we're able to pull it off. They'll watch us even more closely now and there are simply too much of them around. Jack, I … I don't know how much more I can take. I just want you to know, if the worst…"

„Hey, hey none of that talk hoss! We will get out of here. Or do you think that Matty, Riley and Bozer are giving up on us? Nope, not gonna happen. I bet Rileys rig is running hot and Matty is calling in every favour possible. And Bozer, well you know Bozer is doing his thing, whatever it is." Jack interrupted his partners dark speech.

„You're right Jack. I'm sorry." Mac sighed and coughed again.

Jack laid the back of his hand against the blonds forehead. „Jeez, you're burning up Mac. Let's get this thing with the leg over, so you can rest a bit."

The setting of Macs leg was an unpleasant task, but it wasn't the first time Jack had done this in the field. Mac screamed, but didn't pass out. He was hovering between consciousness and oblivion for a few minutes until his glance cleared up and he managed to speak again.

„I don't know, why I'm always resenting drugs. Right now I could kill for a couple of Tylenol." The blond admitted.

„I'll remind you the next time you fight Doc Ward while in Medical. You know, I really don't want that much practice at field medicine, but with you I'm already halfway to my doctors degree." Jack joked.

Mac chuckled, but sobered quickly. „Thanks Jack."

The Delta was puzzled. „What for?"

Mac shivered and reached out a shaking hand and laid it on his partners. „For always being there for me. You know, in moments like this … when everything becomes too much … when I don't know how to keep it together. You always know the right things to say, the things I need to hear. Keep me grounded and keep me going. I couldn't do this without you Jack. Thanks."

Jack couldn't talk for a moment, because of the lump in his throat. He sqeezed Macs hand hard and said. „You're welcome Mac. I don't know if you are aware, but you do the same for me. You see possibilities, find solutions and create opportunities where nobody else would find a way out. You never quit. You have a strength I can draw from, you may be beaten, but you're never broken." Jack was too worn out to keep his feelings hidden. He wiped away a few tears and smiled. „I guess, Riley is right with this co-depency thing, isn't she?"

Mac nodded. „Absolutely, but we won't tell them." He coughed again and shivered and Jack grabbed the last blanket and pulled it tight around Mac. The blonds eyes were dropping.

„Try to get some rest buddy. I'll watch your back." Jack encouraged and soon Mac had slipped into a restless slumber. His breathing didn't sound right and his face showed the pain he was in, even while sleeping. „Now would be a great time to get us out of here Matty," Jack whispered and leaned back to rest a bit as well.

Riley was pacing the war room nervously. The waiting was weighing heavily on her.

„How long until the tac teams are there?" Bozer asked once more.

Matty answered. „They'll be at the compound in an hour. Sit down Riley. I've sent all of our tac teams and the CIA supports them with 20 men." She tried to soothe her agents.

Riley stumbled, but found her balance a moment later. The hacker quickly sat down, she wasn't keen on being lectured by her friends. Luckily neither Matty nor Bozer hadn't noticed, because their eyes were fixated on the big screen.

There was something going on. Normally is was pretty quiet in the building, but Jack could hear gunfire and heavy boots as well as shouting. „Mac, I think the cavalry is here." The Delta exclaimed excited. He tried to rouse his partner, but the blond was in a confused feverish state. „Hang in there hoss. Help is coming."

Jack rose to his feet and swayed. „Damn," he cursed his bodys weakness as he stumbled in the direction of the door. „In here. Help!" He yelled and leaned against the wall as dark spots danced before his eyes. A moment later the door opened and Jack let out a sigh of relief when he recognized his guys from Phoenix. „You are a sight for sore eyes," he said and spotted Gabe, one of the medics of the tac teams, who immediately stepped towards the Delta. Jack waved him off. „Take care of Mac first. He's bad off. He has a concussion, maybe broken ribs, his leg is smashed and I think the beginnings of pneumonia as he's running a pretty good fever." Jack rattled off all of Macs symptoms, because the room was spinning and he had to make sure that Gabe had all the intel about his partners health.

Dimly Jack was aware of somebody talking to him and a hand on his arm. He pushed the darkness back one more time and forced his head up, only for his eyes to roll back into his skull when he collapsed.

There was a distant beeping. It wasn't right beside him, but it was annoying nevertheless. Wait, that was a heart monitor! It took Jack a few minutes to put the pieces together. Images appeared in his mind. The compound, torture, pain, Mac coughing, the fight with the mercs, more pain and then the Phoenix guys coming for them. So they were at Medical. Jack felt a weight on his hand. He opened his eyes and everything was too bright and blurry. The Delta blinked the room into focus, but it didn't clear up completely. His tongue felt leaden. A soft voice welcomed him. „Hey big guy, how are you feeling?" Jack shifted his glance and spotted Riley sitting beside his bed and holding his hand.

„Riley," Jack croaked out and tried to clear his throat. The hacker held a cup with a straw to his mouth and helped him take a drink.

„Thanks," he managed. God was he tired. Mac! Jack sat up suddenly and a wave of pain that shot through his body threatened to take him under. Everything went gray for a long minute. Riley caressed his face and mumbled. „Easy Jack, don't move around too much. You're ok, you're safe."

Jack came back to the present. „Mac! Where is Mac? How is he? It was bad, Ri." The Delta was upset.

„He's here Jack, he's gonna be ok." Riley stood up and pulled the curtain back. And there Mac was. Looking small and pale, lying in his bed. The blond was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor and he had a nasal canula. His leg was in a cast and elevated. Bozer was sleeping in a recliner nearby.

Jack moved to sit up and push the blanket away. He was stopped by Riley. „Oh no, you're staying right where you are. Really Jack, Mac is ok. You both are. You … you were lucky." Rileys voice was breaking and Jack took in the appearance of his surrogate daughter. Her eyes looked huge in her pale face and she looked thinner. Dark circles were visible under her eyes and worry was marking her beautiful face.

„Are you ok honey?" Jack asked concerned. Riley laughed, but it sounded somehow hysterically. „Am I ok? I am now, but you scared the hell out of me."

„I'm sorry Ri, how long have we been here?" Jack wanted to know.

„About 8 hours," Riley started, but was interrupted by Doc Ward who had entered the room.

„And before you ask, you both can go home tomorrow evening. We'll keep you here for the next 24 hours to get some antibiotics into you and watch your concussions."

„I knew Mac had a concussion, what else is wrong with him?" Jack looked over to his partner who was still sleeping.

„Well, he's bordering on pneumonia, but with the IV antibiotcs we should get ahead of it. He's still running a fever, but it has already gone down a bit. The break in his leg was a simple one and you set it right, so we only needed to cast it. He suffered two broken ribs, is exhausted and malnourished, the same as you are." Doc Ward explained Macs condition. „As for you, we needed to do surgery on your arm Jack. We put in some screws and a plate to fix the breaks, because they were bad ones, but everything went well and should heal up alright. The dislocation of your shoulder didn't cause any damage, but it will be pretty painful for a while, due to the weight of your cast. So don't take off the sling. You've got a concussion as well, but not as severe as Macs. Did I forget anything? Oh yes, three broken ribs. All in all with a few weeks of R&R you both should be good as new."

Jack nodded. „Surgery, that explains why my mouth feels like an animal died in there. You sure Mac is ok? Why hasn't he woken up?"

„He woke up briefly while you were in recovery. Don't worry Jack. You both are on heavy pain meds and your bodies demand rest, so sleep is the best thing now. Try to get some rest." The physician checked both of their IV's and left the room.

Jack yawned and snuggled into his pillow. „You don't have to stay with me sweetheart. You look beat, why don't you go home and rest up?"

The hacker shook her head. „I'm not leaving you Jack. I … I just can't, ok?" And there was so much emotion packed in that sentence, that Jack didn't press her. He knew from experience, how hard it was to see a friend lying injured in the hospital bed after being missing for some time. The need to stay close and keep physical contact, to reassure oneself that the other was really back and would be ok. Riley reached out and took his good hand again, before she got more comfortable in her chair.

Jack nodded and sqeezed her small hand, enjoying the touch and the presence of his daughter. He fought to stay awake, but his lids were dropping already. „Thanks Ri."

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	6. Chapter 6

AN:

Thanks for reviewing, favouriting and following the story. Thanks to the Guest who left me a review. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Riley watched Jack slip into sleep and tried to blink back the tears, that were threatening to fall. She felt guilty, that her friends were lying in the hospital beds, beaten and broken. It wasn't the first time that they had to endure torture, but Riley felt, that she should have been able to prevent it. If only she had worked harder and faster none of this would have happened. The clue was right before her eyes the entire time and she failed to see it. She failed and because of that, Jack and Mac had to suffer so much pain. No, now was not the time for wallowing in her misery. She would deal with it later, when she was alone. So she shoved her emotions back again and concentrated on the Delta.

Riley was so grateful, that Jack and Mac were alive and would be ok. She could have rested now, but she was afraid that one or both of her friends would take a turn for the worse. Concussions were a bitch and Jack was only out of surgery for a short time. She wouldn't risk sleeping and not be awake, if one of them needed help suddenly. Riley wasn't able to relax just yet.

Everything had gone quiet in the sick room, except from the noises of the machines Mac was hooked up to. Bozer was still sleeping and Jack and Mac were resting peacefully as well. The soft snoring from Jack, that often annoyed Riley on her flights on the Phoenix jet, was suddenly a sound she loved. God how she had missed him, when he walked out on her as a teenager. Riley still felt bad for fighting him and resenting him time after time. To be honest she didn't know why she did it. The realization, what Jack had really meant to her only set in once he was gone. Riley was devastated and only then did she understand that Jack had been like a father to her. A real father, not the drinking and brutal man that Elwood was. Jack had lectured her about the dangers out in the world, after picking her up when she had sneaked out to go to a party, but only after making sure that she really was ok. Riley had just sulked, not realizing, that it was love that made Jack so angry and concerned.

The door opened and Matty walked in. She observed her injured agents for a few moments and then turned to the hacker.

„You did an incredible job Riley. Thanks to you we got them back. I'm proud of you." The director praised her.

„Proud? How can you be proud of me? I should have seen the lead a week ago. Look at them, broken bones, concussions and so much pain. I could have spared them this, but I didn't. I should…"

Mattys no-nonsense-voice interrupted her harshly. „Don't you dare and blame yourself for this Riley. You wasn't the one who tortured them. You did your job and you did it well. We analyzed all the leads we had systematically. Satellite images, traffic cams and so on. When we didn't find anything we went over the data again. There were so many transactions and you took them all apart until you found the one that gave us the intel we needed. I had all the other analysts working on it as well, but none of them saw what you recognized. You saved them, period. Stop blaming yourself." Mattys voice softened. „You need to take care of you Riley. I know this mission took a toll on you. Go home and rest, they're gonna be ok."

„I go home, when they go home. Right now I don't want to be anywhere else." Riley said simply.

Matty nodded, understanding the need for the hacker to stay close to Jack. It hadn't escaped her how strong the bond between Jack and Riley was. The hacker loved Mac too, but with the Delta it was a whole other level. Only then did Matty realize how hard it must have been for Riley.

„Ok, but when they are released, I don't want to see you here for at least a week," the director ordered and Riley smiled.

„Thanks Matty."

A few hours later Mac began to stir. Riley was walking around the room to stretch her legs. She stepped to the bed and waited patiently until Macs eyes opened. He looked around the room and saw Jack sleeping.

„Is he ok?" Mac asked voice rough from sleep and a dry throat. Riley helped him to drink and answered.

„Yes, he is. He came through surgery well. They put some screws and a plate in his arm." She explained.

„I knew it was a bad break," Mac gulped „I had to grab the broken arm to pop his shoulder back in," the blond shuddered at the memory. „He passed out, because the pain was too much to handle for his body. And after he came to he had to set my leg and splint it."

Riley nodded and stayed silent. She was not sure, if she wanted to know all the details.

„How did you find us?" Mac asked curiously.

„Hunters mum owns the property. We found out that there were payments for an old folks home in Switzerland, where she's staying. Sorry, it took me so long." Riley gave him the short version.

„Hey, you found us! We knew they were well organized and really good at hiding their tracks. Don't be sorry Ri, you did really good." Mac shot her a grateful smile.

„But they hurt you so much," the hacker protested.

„We'll be ok. We've both had worse." He couldn't suppress a yawn.

Riley smiled. „Go back to sleep Mac, you need it."

„I think I will."

The rest of the night was quiet, with only a nurse coming in and checking on her patients. They really seemed to be doing as well as could be expected and Riley relaxed a little.

A moan got her attention and she saw Bozer waking up and wincing. „I don't know, how Jack can practically live in these chairs for days on end, when Mac is laid up. My back and neck are killing me."

Riley smiled. „I know what you mean. I have to stand up and walk around for a bit periodically."

„You were awake all night? Oh Ri, you need to sleep. Why don't you go home? I promise to have an eye on them and prevent any attempts at escape."

„I'll go home, when they are released." The hacker said in a tone, Bozer knew was not up for discussion.

The sun was rising and Phoenix Medical awoke with nurses coming and going. Changing IVs, checking vitals, looking at their wounds and bringing breakfast.

Jack snorted, when he saw his breakfast. „No bacon? Come on, they were practically starving us," the Delta complained.

„Exactly. That's the reason, why you're just getting food that's easy on your stomach." The nurse was not putting up with her patients attitude.

With a sigh Jack grabbed the fork and began to eat his eggs and nibble on the toast.

Mac piped up. „Hey at least they broke your left arm. Do you remember, when your right arm was in a cast. You always made a mess, when you were eating."

Everybody laughed at the memory and Bozer added. „I was running out of finderfood recipes and hearing you slurp soup through a straw still gives me nightmares." The room errupted again in laughter. Riley smiled but didn't join the conversation.

Mac and Jack slept most of the day and Bozer left after lunch to go home and prepare everything that would be needed when they would be released in the afternoon. Doc Ward checked on them and was satisfied with their progress.

Their converstaions were light and they avoided the details of her captivity. Jack didn't like Rileys appearance. It was unusual for her to be dressed in a hoodie and leggings. Dark circles were visible under her eyes, but she refused to go home until Jack gave up. He was not feeling too well himself and understood her need to be close to them. It had been almost two weeks and it must have been really hard on her.

It took Riley all her strength to pull herself together and not to cry whenever one of her friends moaned in pain. But she needed to be strong for them. They had been through so much, they shouldn't have to worry about her. Riley was tense, even now that she knew that everything would be alright she couldn't break free of the terror that had taken hold of her. When Bozer came with two duffle bags with clothes for Mac and Jack, she stepped out of the room. Riley leaned against the wall outside their room and took deep breaths as she felt dizzy. The sensation passed after a few minutes and she walked back into the room and plastered a smile on her face.

„Ready to go home guys?" She asked.

„I was ready yesterday," Jack answered and pulled her in for a hug. „Jeez Ri, how much weight have you lost?" He asked concerned, when he registered how slim she was under the big hoodie.

„Not as much as you big guy," she shot back and tried to distract him. „What about pizza tomorrow night? Do you think you can handle a little grease? Maybe we should order a vegetarian for you." Riley teased.

„Ew that's disgusting," Jack shuddered and said. „I can handle my favourite pizza, don't worry."

Out at the parking lot they said their goodbyes. Bozer took Jack and Mac to Macs place and Riley drove home to her apartment.

Bozer helped Mac out of the car and took their bags while Jack walked right beside the blond. Mac was still a bit unsteady on his feet and walking with crutches, while having broken ribs and a concussion was quite difficult and painful. „Whoa, easy Mac," Jack reached out his good arm and steadied his partner, when he tilted to the side.

„Thanks Jack. I think, I'll keep walking at a minimum until my head is better." Mac stated and Jack got even more concerned at the fact that his friend was admitting weakness. „Maybe you should have stayed at Medical a few days longer hoss. With my arm, I'm not that much help." The delta said.

„No way Jack. I'm fine, well I will be fine. I'll just take it easy and Matty has Bozer on nurse duty, so we can shoo him around." Mac tried to lighen the mood.

„And that's why you are both taking your pain meds and going to bed once we're in, or" he added as he sensed that his friends were going to protest „I'll rat on you. Matty said to just call and she'll send over the nastiest nurse she can find." Bozer smiled like the devil himself, while Mac and Jack stood there open mouthed.

As soon as they entered the house they received theis meds and were ushered to bed like little kids. But to be honest, both men were to tired and exhausted to put up a fight.

Bozer checked on them once more and then walked back into the kitchen to prepare some soup for dinner.

Four hours later Jack walked into the living room and gingerly sat down on the couch. Bozer laid his book aside and asked. „How are you feeling Jack?"

Jack grimaced. „Honestly, I'm still tired. Sleeping with a fucked up arm sucks."

Bozer nodded in sympathy. „I bet. I don't want to imagine the pain you must have been in, when Mac set your shoulder."

Jack smiled. „I passed out pretty quickly and Mac splinted my arm while I was out. So it could have been worse. Honestly, I was more afraid for Mac. He was running a pretty good fever and his coughing was bad. You got to us just in time. We wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer." Jack admitted.

„Thanks to Riley. She did an amazing job. I have never seen her so determined and stubborn." Bozer admitted.

„Why stubborn? What do you mean?" Jack wanted to know.

Bozer got uncomfortable. He feared how Jack might react when he learned what had happened while he and Mac were captured.

„Bozer out with it!" Jack urged.

„Well, she refused to rest, working furiously on every lead we had until," he broke off, hesitating how to phrase his next words.

„Until what?"

Bozer decided for the naked truth, he knew sugarcoating wouldn't work with Jack anyway. „Until she passed out in the war room."

„What? How could you let that happen? Why didn't Matty put her foot down?" Jack started yelling.

„She did, Jack. Doc Ward examined Riley and said she needed to sleep and eat. Matty sent her home. Riley put up a fight at first, but Matty had her escorted by two of the tac guys. They took her home and brought her back after six hours. They did that every day, but to be honest I don't think she slept much while she was at her apartment. I tried to get her to eat, but other than a power bar now and then I don't think she eat much. Jack, I know you are mad at me now, but believe me I tried, I really did. But Riley is as stubborn as you and Mac are." Bozer looked down, but Jack had seen the guilty expression on his face. „She was so worried, working frantically on every dataset and analyzing traffic cams. It was so hard on her and I wasn't any help."

Jack sighed. „I'm sorry about all you were put through. And Bozer, just for the record, I'm not mad at you. I've known Riley for such a long time and stubborn is her middle name." He ran a hand through his hair, leaned back and closed his eyes. He thought how pale and thin his girl had looked back at Phoenix Medical. Her tenseness and the strained smile. Jack shook his head, why hadn't he seen how bad off Riley was. He needed to check on her. Now.

„I have to make sure, she is ok," Jack said and took his phone from the coffee table.

„Jack you can't drive, while on heavy pain meds, and I can't leave Mac alone with his concussion. You need to rest as well." Bozer objected.

„I need to check on my girl, but I know I'm not up to driving. I'm taking an Uber. I'm gonna stay at her place tonight. You have an eye on Mac, ok?" Jack rose and swayed for a moment. Bozer immediately steadied him, not liking how shaky Jack still was. „I'm good now." Jack mumbled when he had found his legs. He straightened and shot Bozer a smile. „Relax Bozer, I'm gonna let you know, when I arrived at Rileys place."

„You better do Jack, or I'm gonna send a tac team after you," Bozer threatened.

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

AN:

So finally we've reached the last chapter. Thanks for joining me on the ride. Thanks for all the support. Thanks to the guest who reviewed and special thanks to MoonPaw, your review just made my day, but I don't think your praise is justified as I still have so much to learn concerning the English language and my writing skills. Nevertheless I can't stop smiling

Chapter 7

Riley sat on her couch, blinking. When had she came home? How had she gotten home? The hacker couldn't remember. She felt … empty … her hands were clutching her rig so hard, her knuckles were white. She tried to loosen her grip, but barely could move her fingers. Why were her hands cramping? It felt as if she had held onto her laptop for a long time. Mac and Jack! She needed to find them! No, they had found them … hadn't they? Yes, the tac teams had brought them back and they were at Macs house now. Riley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Jack would be ok, and so would be Mac. She could let go and rest. She should shower, go to bed and sleep for at least 12 hours straight.

Riley couldn't move. She was frozen in terror as everything crashed down on her. All the worry, the panic of being too late, the terror about what her friends had to endure and all the dead ends that were crushing her hopes time after time. All the things she had shoved into the back of her mind were surfacing and attacking her with a vengeance. Her breathing got laboured. The feeling of being helpless was overwhelming and suffocating her. Everyone depended on her and her skills. The expectant glances from Matty and Bozer, waiting for her to find the lead. The endless days and nights filled with hope and disappointment, never ending rows of data. All of them useless, confusing a waste of her precious time. Of Jacks and Macs time, that was running out so quickly. She had felt it and it was pure terror. Another image appeared in her mind. Jack and Mac lying in the hospital beds, pale and drawn, in so much pain it was visible even in her sleep. Jack who had to endure surgery, more worry, waiting. Sounds of pain coming from her friends.

Jack was tempted to simply call Riley, but he didn't want to disturb her. She probably was sound asleep, so Jack would just sneak in and watch over her. The Delta took out his spare key and opened the door. The apartment was only dimly lit, but Jack immediately saw that something was seriously wrong. Normally Rileys place was neat and tidy. This … this was a mess. Clothes were strewn around, but what was more disturbing was the huge amount of empty coffee cups and countless empty cans of energy drinks, that were all over the room.

Jacks worry was skyrocketing and he began to walk in the direction of the bed room, when he noticed a small figure sitting on the couch in the darkest corner of the room. „Riley?" Jack called out, not to startle her, but the figure didn't acknowledge him. „Ri," the Delta said again and slowly turned up the light, so he could get a good look at his daughter. His eyes widened in shock.

Riley sat on the couch looking so small and vulnerable, Jacks heart constricted painfully at the sight. She was rocking back and forth and her eyes were empty. Her breathing was too fast and shallow. The hacker clearly hadn't registered Jacks presence. The Delta crouched before her and laid a hand on her knee. Still, no reaction. „Riley, sweetheart can you hear me? It's me, Jack. Come on honey, look at me." Jack spoke softly. Nothing.

„Ri, you're starting to scare me baby." Fear was choking Jack and his voice grew rough. He started rubbing one of Rileys arms with his good hand. And finally, there was a reaction. Riley turned her head and her confused eyes found Jacks concerned ones. Her eyes widened, when she recognized him. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her glance was fixated on Jack and she began to tremble. „Hey, easy sweetheart. It's gonna be ok. I'm alright, see. Talk to me, baby. How can I help you?" Jack gripped her hand and sqeezed hard, trying to break her trance.

The tremors became worse and soon Rileys whole body was shaking. Her breathing sped up once more and developed into shallow little gasps and Jack was nearing panic now, but freaking out wouldn't help Riley, so he fought back his fear. He cleared his throat and said in a calm voice. „Take a deep breath Ri, slow and easy. Come on you can do it. One easy breath, do it with me," he tried to coach her and performed a deep breath. It didn't reach the hacker, she was still staring at Jack, eyes wide, breathing laboured and shaking like a leaf. Jack gently cupped her face and tried to get through to her, but suddenly her eyes rolled back and she sagged forward into Jack. The Delta caught her and ignored the flare of white hot pain that shot through his arm and shoulder.

„Riley!" He cried out and managed to lay her back on the couch. He tapped her face and begged her to wake up. „Come on baby, open your eyes." Rileys skin felt cold and clammy. He ṕulled out his phone and speed dialed his boss. „Matty, you need to send an ambulance to Rileys apartment. There is something seriously wrong with her, she was in a kind of shock and then she collapsed. Hurry Matty, please hurry." He hung up and grabbed a few pillows to elevate Rileys legs. Then he pulled out a blanket under a pile of clothes and covered her with it. Jack ran into the bathroom and grabbed a towel, which he soaked in cold water. He wrung it out and hurried back to his girl. With gentle movements he wiped the pale face of Riley. „I'm so sorry honey for putting you through all of this. Please wake up Riley. It's gonna be ok. You're gonna be fine, we're all gonna be fine. Open your eyes baby, please." All his begging, all his urging and pleading was useless, because Riley didn't wake up. By the time the paramedics from Phoenix arrived, Jack was a shivering mess himself. He stuttered out what had happened and moved out of the way to let the medics work.

Jack stood in the background watching with horror as the paramedics took care of his girl. He had to look away when they shoved a needle into her arm to start an IV. Riley still hadn't woken up and Jack realized, that he had never seen her unconscious before. The sight scared him shitless. All kind of worst case scenarios were popping up in his mind and he had to fight to keep his shit together. Soon the medics moved Riley onto a stretcher and took her out to the ambulance. Jack sat down beside the gurney and took her limp hand. He mumbled all kinds of nonsense and was startled when they had reached the Phoenix building.

Doc Ward greeted them and the paramedics rattled out Rileys vitals and medical gibberish while they were pushing her into the exam room. Jack stood outside frozen. He felt disconnected. He knew he should call Bozer, but his body didn't obey his brain commands. What had happened to his girl? This couldn't be real, could it? Jack shook his head, his vision getting blurry with tears. His body felt heavy, he really needed to sit down. There were a few chairs down the hallway, but for Jack they were to far away. He sank back and leaned against the wall. His knees must have given out, because when he blinked he was on the floor. There was a hand on his face and somebody was talking to him. Jack pushed through the fog that was clouding his mind. He forced his head up and saw Matty speaking to him and a nurse approaching with a wheelchair. He blinked again, his vision cleared up and so did his hearing and he was able to make out the words.

„with me Jack? Talk to me big guy! Can you hear me?" Jack nodded. „Hear you," he managed, but even talking seemed to much of an effort. Pain was shooting from his shoulder to his fingertips and he felt nausea rising. He gulped.

„Easy Jack, try to take a deep breath. Close your eyes for a moment until the sensation passes." The nurse coached him. Jack obeyed and after some time, he felt a bit better. He opened his eyes and moved to stand up.

„Whoa, slow down Jack. We don't want to pick you up from the floor." Matty stopped him with a hand on his chest.

„I'm ok, Matty. Let me get up, I need to check on Riley," Jack was back in the present. With help from the nurse and his boss he got up. He was swaying and grateful when the nurse pushed him gently into the wheelchair. Doing a faceplant with a messed up arm wasn't on his bucket list. His shoulder hurt like hell and only now he registered that his sling was missing. He must have shed it, when he took care of Riley. Carefully he moved the hurting limb with his good arm so it rested in his lap.

„How's Riley?" Jack asked and tried to push the wheelchair into the direction of the exam room. But with one arm, that didn't really work.

Matty answered his question. „They took her to get xrays and a scan. And you're getting checked out too."

The nurse pushed him into another room and the Delta asked puzzled. „When did they take her away? I didn't see it."

„Well you wasn't really with it for some time. To be honest both of you gave me a pretty good scare." It was unusual for Matty to admit something like that and it told Jack how shaken his boss was.

„Sorry Mathilda." The Delta didn't know what else to say. A doctor had entered the room and began to check him over. Jack didn't pay any attention to him. His thoughts were with Riley.

„Can you tell me what happened Jack?" Matty asked gently, not wanting to upset Jack further, but needing to know.

„Bozer told me that Riley run herself into the ground, while we were captured and when he mentioned her collapse I got worried, because she wasn't really herself yesterday too. I went over to her apartment and it …I don't even know how to describe it … the whole place was a mess, clothes everywhere, coffee cups and empty energy drinks strewn around …" Jack broke off and wiped away some tears.

Matty stroke his arm and said in a soothing voice. „It's ok Jack. Take your time."

Jack nodded and swallowed. „I didn't see her at first, because the room was pretty dark. Riley sat on the couch, but she wasn't responsive. She was rocking and staring into the darkness. I tried to get her attention, but she didn't even register I was there for some time." Jack closed his eyes, these images were going to hunt him in his nightmares for a long time to come.

„Finally she got aware of my presence, she opened her mouth but she couldn't talk. It was horrible. Then she suddenly went limp and I … I couldn't wake her up." Jack hung his head as more tears were coming and he didn't have the strength to wipe them away.

The doctor turned to Matty. „He's exhausted, but his injuries are not worse. He needs rest and some pain meds." He handed Matty a bottle of pills and she confirmed. „I'll make sure he takes them." The physician silently left the room after fitting Jack out with a new sling.

Matty gave Jack time to get hold of his raw emotions. She handed him a tissue box after a while and the Delta wiped his nose and looked at his boss. Matty placed a pill in his hand and held out a glas of water. Jack didn't want to take the drugs, but he was too worn out to fight with the woman and so he swallowed it and chased it down with a gulp of water.

„I knew something was off with her, but I thought she was just tired. I should have known better." Jack chastised himself.

„No Jack, that's on me. After her collapse, I forced her to go home for a few hours every day and I thought I had it covered. Obviously she fooled me. I knew she wasn't doing well, but I assumed it was because she was so concerned about you. Well, as it turns out it wasn't only worry. I'm sorry Jack, I should have taken better care of her."

Jack sighed. „It's not your fault Matty. Riley is damn good at hiding her emotions. She has so many layers, she only lets people see what she wants them to see. It took me years to discover the real Riley. I'm still not sure I figured her out completely." He stood up and leaned on the exam table to steady himself.

„You can go and see her, but you take the wheelchair. I can't keep you from falling and I have no desire to get buried under a mountain of Texan flesh." Matty smirked and Jack shot her a small smile. He sat down in the wheelchair and Matty pushed him into the room where Riley was settled.

Doc Ward was there adjusting her IV drip.

„How is she doc?" Jack asked instead of a greeting. The physician didn't mind, he knew this team for years now and appreciated how they cared for each other, despite the fact that is wasn't making his job any easier.

„Riley is malnourished and totally exhausted. She wasn't completely recovered from her cold and not eating, sleeping and running on coffee and energy drinks didn't do her any favours. She's gonna be ok Jack. She needs a lot of rest and food, but she'll be alright." Doc Ward explained.

Jack got almost dizzy with relief. „I was so afraid she had a stroke or something, when she couldn't talk to me."

The pysician calmed him. „We checked her out thoroughly. No indications for neurological issues. Her body had reached his limit and was shutting down. She's lucky you were there."

Matty sqeezed his shoulder. „She's tough Jack. She's gonna be ok. I'm gonna let you alone with her now."

The director left with the doctor. Jack took out his phone and called Bozer. After that the Delta moved over to the chair beside the bed. The wheelchair would have been more comfortable, but he didn't want Riley to see him in it and get worried. Jack took her small hand and leaned back. Soon his eyes were dropping, as the pain meds kicked in and his body relaxed.

Jack didn't know how much time had passed, but Rileys hand was twitching in his and the Delta was instantly alert. Her eyes were still closed, but she moved her head from side to side. Jack tried to soothe her. „Sh, sweetheart you're ok, I'm here, just go back to sleep baby."

Rileys eyes opened and she blinked and stared at her friend for a long minute. Jacks anxiety grew and he was about to push the call button, when Riley finally spoke. „What happened?"

Jack took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts for a moment. „I came over to your place to check on you and … it was … I don't know … you were not doing good honey. You didn't know I was there, you were in a kind of shock and then passed out." Jack blinked the tears away, not wanting to fall apart in front of his girl. She needed his strength right now.

„Um, sorry," Riley looked down ashamed. Jack reached out with his good hand and lifted her chin. Her eyes were full of tears. „Hey, don't cry sweetheart. The doc says you're gonna be ok. You need to eat and sleep a lot to get back on your feet, but you'll be alright in no time. I promise, I'll make sure of it. But you have to make me a promise too. You need to take care of yourself, when I'm not around. I know you're good at fooling the others, but please don't do this again. Nobody wants to see you go down hard, because you neglected your bodys demands of food an rest. We all need you Ri, but we need you whole and healthy. You mustn't kill yourself because one of us is missing. You don't have to shoulder to responsibility alone. This is a team. I know you are the one, who's the greatest asset with your skills, beside Mac, but the others are willing to help too. Ask for support and there is no shame in needing to rest in order to keep going again. Nobody can run on energy drinks and coffee. Will you promise me to not do this again? Please baby, I can't loose you. Promise?"

Jacks pleading and his wrecked appearance tore at Riley heart. The Delta was pale and hurting, deep lines of worry lining his face. Riley would have promised him anything right now. She never broke a promise and Jacks speech made her understand, that he was right. Maybe she would have found the clue sooner if she had slept more and would have been more efficient working on the data.

„I promise Jack. I can see it now, that it didn't do any good, but I couldn't help myself. I felt guilty going to sleep or eating, when I didn't know if you had anything to eat or sleep on." Riley admitted.

„I know, what you mean honey. I've been there myself. It's the hardest thing to keep a cool head, eat or sleep when the only thing you want to do is run out there and get your loved one back. But sometimes it's the only choice as hard as it is." Jack said compassionate.

Riley shot him a smile. „I'm glad, you're both gonna be ok." She yawned.

Jack returned the smile. He rose and kissed her on the forehead. „The three of us are gonna be ok baby," he corrected her and added with a stern voice accompanied by a wink. „Now be a good kid and go back to sleep."

Riley grinned. „Good night … Dad."

„Brat!"

„Old man!"

Jack chuckled and settled back into his chair. Soon both were sound asleep.

„Ow, you hit me again with that damn crutch," Bozers whining woke Jack. The sun was already up and a look at Riley showed him she was still sleeping. The Delta turned around in his chair and saw Mac maneuvering his way into the room, followed by Bozer.

„How is she Jack? Is she ok?" Macs eyes were huge with fear, when he took in Rileys pale face.

„Doc Ward says she's totally exhausted and malnourished, but she's gonna be ok." Jack repeated the report he got from the doc.

„Thank god!" Mac breathed and shoved Bozers hands away angrily, while sitting down in the other chair.

Jack raised his brow and Bozer explained. „He's pissed, because I didn't wake him up and took him here last night."

„Hey Mac, I know you feel bad about it, but you couldn't have done anything to help her. Riley wasn't alone and you need the rest to get back on your feet." Jack tried to reason with his partner.

„Look who's talking, you've got a concussion too and judging by the lines of pain on your face it's time you take your meds." Mac shot back aggressively.

Jack didn't take offense at his partners hostile behaviour, because he knew where it was coming from. „I'm feeling guilty too, you know. If we had managed to get out of the compound in time, she wouldn't be lying here. But there's nothing we can do about it now hoss. What we can do is help her get back on her feet. We have to make sure that mustn't happen ever again. I've already talked to her about it, but you know how stubborn she is." Jack said softly and all the fight went out of Mac, when he realized it must have been even harder on his partner. The bond Jack and Riley shared was as strong as one between a father and his daughter could be. It didn't matter they weren't related by blood. Witnessing the collapse of his girl must have shaken Jack to the core.

„I'm sorry Jack. You're right." Mac simply said and Jack shot him a tired smile.

„You're such a bunch of softies," came a weak voice from the bed.

„Hey sweetheart, how do you feel?" Jack asked with a smile, but couldn't hide his concern.

„Tired, but better." Riley answered honestly. „I'm sorry for scaring all of you." She apologized.

„Sorry? Is that all you can say? I told you, I didn't want to see you here for at least a week and you're back after a few hours. That's disobeying orders Riley." Matty said from the doorway.

Riley grinned. „I'm sorry boss, but I didn't came voluntarily. I was brought here, so it doesn't count."

Matty opened her mouth and closed it. Bozer took the opportunity and piped up. „It looks like I've got one more patient to take care of. I think we should talk about a raise, boss."

„I should fire the whole bunch of you lunatics. I think my life would be a lot easier then, if I hadn't to deal with a whole kindergarten every day." Matty grumbled but couldn't contain her smile.

„Easier maybe, but not as exciting." Jack drawled and the room errupted in laughter.

The End


End file.
